


uncle rin

by incensuous



Category: Free!
Genre: Gen, Sibling Bonding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-15
Updated: 2017-12-15
Packaged: 2019-02-15 02:38:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13021482
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/incensuous/pseuds/incensuous
Summary: Gou is pregnant and Rin understands that means she is Not Allowed To Do A Single Thing.





	uncle rin

**Author's Note:**

> very cheese  
> filling a prompt from iwatobi swim club @dreamwidth 4 years late....... http://iwatobiswimclub.dreamwidth.org/1476.html?thread=985284#cmt985284

Even at twenty-seven years old, there isn’t a lot that has changed about Gou. Her hair might be cut a little shorter now and her features are more defined than when she was only sixteen years old, but she still does and always has enjoyed spending time with her older brother.

Except as of late, when the sibling in question has been becoming increasingly more overbearing… more than usual.

“Just because I’m in my second trimester doesn’t mean I’m helpless, onii-chan,” she complains for the fifth time, when all she wanted was to grab the cute onesie from the hanger as high as her shoulder.

“You’ve got to be careful, Gou,” he simply responds and grabs it before she could even so much as lift her hand, to place into the shopping cart he’d been wheeling around for her.

She had to admit, the first few days, after the announcement she and Haru were expecting their first child, were novel. While Rin had always been overprotective, he had never coddled her this way. Part of her had enjoyed his attention, but at this point, she’s had enough of his hovering.

Gou places a hand on her waist and stares at him, unimpressed. “That wasn’t even close to being strenuous,” she points out, but he shrugs away her comment, and continues looking at other outfits.

They are shopping in preparation, and while it seemed a little early, Gou could not keep her hands away from the precious outfits and imagining her adorable daughter in pretty little dresses and headbands.

“Are you hungry?” he questions, while she mulls over a flower headband or a heart headband.

Instead of answering, Gou shoves the two of them in her brother’s face. “Which one do you like better, onii-chan?”

He is thrown off guard by her movement until he seriously considers the two choices while taking them into his own hands, before putting both of them in the cart.

Gou is about to point out they already have way too much, but then Rin says flippantly, “As long as I’m around, my niece can get whatever she wants.” As she registers what her brother means, she smiles and thinks her daughter is so lucky to already have such a doting uncle, and hugs his arm.

Almost absent-mindedly, she comments, “You still have the best deltoids, onii-chan.”

He looks down at his sister and snorts. He should be used to her inane comments by now but it still catches him off-guard. “What about Haru?”

“Haru has the best triceps,” she declares dreamily.

All Rin can do is stifle a laugh because he’d die before he’d let Gou think he actually found her muscle fetish cute and that he’d sometimes indulge her by flexing when she didn’t realize he saw her looking.

* * *

They arrive home, Rin wordlessly claiming any and all groceries and shopping bags to haul over his well-toned arms before she can even attempt to grab even the lightest item from his grasp.

She sighs minutely before following her brother. “Letting me open my own door, are you?” she asks, sarcastically.

Rin ignores this and moves to set everything onto her kitchen floor. Gou reaches for the refrigerator door when a large palm intercepts her movement, and she throws her hand up in exasperation.

“Onii-chan! All I’m doing is opening the damn fridge door!”

“You don’t have to do anything,” he retorts, not reacting to her ire.

It might have been the mood swings—it was definitely the mood swings—but it didn’t make her emotions any less real just because they were caused by her out-of-control hormones, and Gou could feel her eyes well up in frustration.

Rin busies himself with putting away groceries, but then realizes his sister is unnaturally quiet and peers over, eyes widening in surprise when he spots her tearing up.

“Gou?” he queries hesitantly, unsure as to what might have set her off this time. Before the pregnancy, Gou wasn’t much of a crier—in fact, she’d teased him far more often for being the crybaby of the two of them (something he refuted every damn time.) He carefully approaches her. “What’s wrong?”

Even if she tells him it’s just her mood swings, his brotherly instincts kick in at the sight of any tears. Gou crying was his ultimate weakness, even if he’d never let anyone else know that.

“Onii-chan, I can do things on my own, I’m not helpless, why won’t you listen?” she murmurs haltingly, the droplets slowly leaking down her cheeks, her breath rattling. Her small hands come up to rub at her eyes, irritated at herself for weeping.

“Gou, I…” Rin’s at a loss for words. Unsure of what else to do, he draws closer and pulls his baby sister into his arms.

And then she cries freely, pressing her face against his chest and wetting his t-shirt, as she wraps her arms around his back. It takes several minutes for her to calm down, but she doesn’t let go and neither does he. He doesn’t dare accuse her of overreacting and he’s sure she’s simply responding to all of the stresses of becoming a mother in addition to her frustrations with him.

He presses a kiss to the crown of her head and mumbles out a soft apology into her hair.

“I know you mean well, onii-chan,” she offers, “but don’t you think this is too much?”

He huffs, breath warm in her locks. “I’m a big brother, Gou. How do you expect me to act when my baby sister is growing up and doesn’t need me around anymore?”

She draws back from him but still within his arms, incredulous.

“I’ll always need you, onii-chan,” she obstinately declares, to negate any thoughts saying otherwise. “You’ll always be my brother! Even if you hover worse than okaa-san, I’ll need you.”

He scowls. “Am I really that bad?”

Gou fixes him with the most unimpressed stare she can muster.

Rin sighs and grumbles. “Okay, okay, I get it. I’ll back off. A little.”

Gou rolls her eyes at her brother but presses a kiss to his cheek and then pulls away. “Let’s start by letting me put away at least two bags of groceries.”

Seeing her brother struggling to allow even the lightest strain on his expecting sister, she gives in. “Fine. After, you can make me a pickle and peanut butter sandwich.” Seeing him grimace amusedly at her odd food combinations, she adds cheekily,  “And give my feet a massage, they’re killing me.”

Groaning, Rin jabs a finger in her direction. “You’re lucky I love you.”


End file.
